BoatUS awards grant to Annapolis non-profit

Posted on May 16th, 2013

With overwhelming support from the Annapolis area community, Annapolis Green was awarded a Grassroots Grant from the BoatU.S Foundation for Boating Safety & Clean Water.

The annual grant program is designed to help non-profit groups, associations, organizations and other waterway users help spread the message about safe and clean boating practices at the grassroots level.

Annapolis Green, whose mission is to promote sustainability in the Annapolis area, will use the $10,000 award specifically for its Red, Right Recycle program, which will accelerate recycling and the promotion of clean boating awareness at the October Annapolis Powerboat and Sailboat Shows.

Annapolis Green will develop these practices into a tool kit that can be used elsewhere to run a green waterside event.

“We want to thank the Annapolis community for voting to put us over the top and helping us win the grant,” Annapolis Green co-founder Elvia Thompson said in a statement. “The community support is a proof that the community is strongly behind our mission of promoting, accelerating and celebrating sustainability in the Chesapeake region.”

Red, Right Recycle — a play on the boating term Red, Right Return — is part of Annapolis Green’s Festival Greening program, established to divert waste generated by the many outdoor events held in the Annapolis area every year from the landfill to recycling.

“Our partnership with the United States Yacht Shows is key,” Annapolis Green co-founder Lynne Forsman said in a statement. “Increasing recycling at the shows will demonstrate to local residents and visitors that we all share a common concern for the environment.”

The BoatUS Foundation grant program attracted more than 70 applications from around the country this year. Annapolis Green was one of only four to receive funding. The award was attributable to the local community’s response to Annapolis Green’s social media and in-person campaign to garner online votes.

Since 1988, the foundation has awarded more than $1.1 million in grants to fund projects that promote responsible boating on a local level.